Wednesday Longhorn Sports Page

IT Staff

03/26/2008

Stay up to date on all things Burnt Orange with a daily stop at IT's Longhorn Sports Page, with links to the latest news and opinion articles on UT football, basketball, baseball, recruiting and other sports from around the web.

Football recruiting:

Nation's No. 1 DE to Visit Texas SaturdayInside Texas
On Saturday, the Texas Longhorns will play the annual Orange-White scrimmage and in attendance will be the Nation's No. 1-ranked defensive end and the fifth-ranked football player, nationally: Devon Kennard. But how did a defensive end from Phoenix, Ariz. get a Texas offer so quickly after Signing Day 2008? What's his connection to Texas and what makes him such a special player?

Walters has a Top FiveInside Texas
Wolfforth Frenship offensive tackle Mason Walters, Texas' final O-line target for the Class of 2009, lays out his top five schools, talks about visits in the works and more.

Garrett Porter: A Man of His WordInside Texas
When recruiting draws to a close in 2009, the Texas Longhorns will likely have one of the most talented offensive line classes in the country. Odessa Permian's Garrett Porter is a big part of that group and remains solidly committed to the Longhorns.

Men's hoops:

Stanford 101Inside Texas
Inside Texas is joined this week by a special guest writer: Daniel Novinson, lead hoops writer for TheBootleg.com, previews Stanford for the Texas faithful.

Horns brace for Stanford's twin towersAustin American-Statesman
Stanford operates with a degree of certainty that impresses an opponent preparing to face the Cardinal. Texas coach Rick Barnes says Stanford players understand where the ball is supposed to go on offense, and how to direct it there. "They know what they are looking for," Barnes said. Or whom. As in Brook Lopez, the 7-foot sophomore forward who leads Stanford — Texas' Sweet 16 opponent in Friday's third-round game of the NCAA tournament — with a 19 points-per-game average. The second-seeded Longhorns (30-6) will play No. 3 Stanford at Reliant Stadium in Houston, host of the South Regional.

Long journey pays off for Texas forwardDallas Morning News
Texas freshman power forward Alexis Wangmene came to the United States four years ago from Cameroon not knowing a word of English. But he seems to have caught on to life in America. Actress Jessica Alba is proof. Walk into Wangmene's dorm room at Texas and there's a poster of the four guys from the hit HBO series Entourage and a poster of Alba from the movie Sin City.

Barnes needs Atchley's defense against StanfordSan Antonio Express-News
It was pointed out to Texas coach Rick Barnes on Tuesday that in his Longhorns' most substantial victories of the season, Connor Atchley has a tendency to make an impact.

Lopez twins tower over rest of NCAA competitionHouston Chronicle
There is a lot you can get caught up in with a quick surface analysis of Stanford's 7-foot sophomore Lopez twins. One has big puffy hair, the other hasa conservative cut. One is more laid-back, the other is Mr. Intensity and the hair styles don't necessarily give anything away there. And then you have their Encyclopedia-like knowledge of all things Disney. But to get caught up in any of that is missing the point, which is Brook and Robin Lopez are forces to be dealt with on the basketball floor for the Cardinal.

Wonderful World of Lopez TwinsNew York Times
Brook Lopez, a 19-year-old college sophomore, is writing two novels and a play. He has acting experience, and he can play the saxophone. His twin brother, Robin, an aspiring artist, visited the Sistine Chapel last summer to study Michelangelo's "Last Judgment." But the Lopez twins' fine-arts pursuits have been interrupted lately by their athletic endeavors. As 7-footers on the Stanford basketball team, they have led the Cardinal into the Round of 16 of the N.C.A.A. tournament.

Texas floor general resembles NBA MVPLawrence Journal-World
Texas point guard D.J. Augustin is like an artist with the basketball, gracefully competing in a rapidly moving sport with 100 percent control of his maneuvers. Like a jazz artist from his hometown of New Orleans, Augustin improvises, producing dazzling results with the sound of his tune. When you mix these ingredients in an NCAA Tournament blender, it produces a point guard that has a natural ability to create his own shots and set up his teammates for equally high-percentage looks. In fact, Augustin's game closely resembles a two-time NBA MVP with the Phoenix Suns: Steve Nash.

UConn brings Longhorns' run to an endAustin American-Statesman
The Texas women's basketball team discovered Tuesday night that it's difficult to compete against perfection. Connecticut, the top seed in the NCAA tournament, played near-flawless basketball against the Longhorns, roughing them up in an 89-55 victory. It marked the worst NCAA tournament defeat in Longhorns history. The previous low for UT was a 25-point loss to Louisiana Tech in a regional final in 1984.

Texas can't take any MooreAssociated Press
Only a freshman, Maya Moore has already done enough for Geno Auriemma to consider her one of the best he's ever coached. Inside and out Tuesday night, Moore was too much for Texas. Connecticut's fabulous freshman scored 24 points and the Huskies shot a blistering 60 percent from the field to beat Texas 89-55 on Tuesday night in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Loss shows Texas has a long way to go in reviving programDaily Texan
To say that Texas has a long way to go in the Gail Goestenkors era is an understatement. No. 1 UConn made that clear. Texas could run their fast break style offense and trapping and pressing defense to perfection against a slow Big Ten team like Minnesota, but at this point they're simply not good enough to beat UConn at their own game.

Texas Soon To Rival Nation's Top ProgramsConnecticut The Day
We interrupt the negative emotions affixed to the postponement (cancellation?) of the UConn-Tennessee women's basketball series — rage, confusion, disappointment — for a peek at the court Tuesday night at the Arena at Harbor Yard. UConn vs. Texas. Hmmm. Is it possible that, you know, we should reconsider our angst? Because in addition to watching the Huskies and Horns playing for a trip to the Sweet 16, we could have been watching the two best teams in women's basketball sooner than we think.